Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a releasably attachable spinnaker launching and/or recovering system for use on a sailboat, such as a yacht, or such as a super yacht, comprising at least one hull and at least one mast extending upright from a deck in the hull, as well as a sailboat comprising a spinnaker launching and/or recovering system.
The present invention also relates to a method for launching and/or recovering of a spinnaker on a sailboat.
Description of Related Art
A spinnaker is a special type of sail for sailboats. Spinnakers are large substantially triangular symmetrical or asymmetrical sails which are designed to be used when going down wind, sailing with the wind 90°-180° off the bow. Asymmetrical spinnakers are also used for reaching, that is sailing with the wind as close as 40°-90° off the bow. Asymmetric spinnakers are sometimes named gennakers.
When the wind fills the spinnaker, the spinnaker “balloons” out in front of the boat, i.e., in front of the mainsail and the jib, when the wind is 90°-180° off the bow.
During reaching, the asymmetric spinnaker fills to the leeward side of the boat, like a very large jib, when the wind is 40°-90° off the bow.
The spinnaker increases the speed of the boat and results in a much more comfortable sailing experience.
A sailboat going down wind or reaching, not launching its spinnaker, is seriously under powered.
The resulting sailing speed is slow and the sailing experience is a disappointing one.
For this reason, a spinnaker is always launched whenever possible in sailing competitions and races, where a skilled crew is handling the sails.
For safety and practical reasons the spinnaker is seldom launched on cruising at leisure trips, e.g. sailing together with family and/or friends. The spinnaker is particularly not launched when only a few persons are on board the yacht, when the yacht is very big, or when the majority of the persons on board are inexperienced in sailing sailboats. Even when conditions are perfect for a memorable fast and enjoyable downwind sailing experience, the spinnaker is seldom launched for safety reasons.
The area of the spinnaker is large in relation to the size of the sail boat and the other sails used on the sail boat. Thus, the forces of the wind acting on the spinnaker are dramatic. Serious injury to persons and damage to the sail or to the rig may easily occur if the spinnaker is not strictly controlled.
A spinnaker out of control is a serious threat even in moderate winds.
Further the spinnaker is rather bulky to handle. For these reasons, it requires the action of several skilled persons to launch, run and recover the spinnaker in a safe and controlled way. In addition, it requires that one or more of the crew leave the cockpit and go to the front deck to assist in launching and/or recovering the spinnaker. Leaving the safety of the cockpit of the sail boat at sea is dangerous, especially in windy weather, in rough waves, at night, during rain, when the deck is wet and slippery, or in any case if an inexperienced sailor is involved.
Traditionally, spinnakers are launched and recovered by hand. Depending on the size of the spinnaker and the wind speed, one, more or as many as 10-15 crew members are engaged on the deck of the sail boat, when the spinnaker is launched or recovered.
Especially recovering the spinnaker by hand the traditional way is a challenge.
Grasping the fabric of the spinnaker trying to control and secure it on the deck, as it is lowered, is certainly neither easy nor without risk.
Spinnakers are usually made of lightweight and strong fabric, usually nylon. The fabric may be selected from a more modern, stronger or a heavier type of fabric if the spinnaker is designed for sailing in windy weather or stormy weather, in particular during sail races.
The head, i.e., top corner, of the spinnaker is attached to the halyard, i.e., which is used for hoisting and lowering the spinnaker. The halyard is attached to the top end of the mast, e.g., through a ring like member, a roller wheel or similar means, and runs down inside, and parallel to the mast. The halyard can be pulled, secured or slacked, respectively, when needed, e.g., from the cockpit of the boat, when it is necessary to set, secure or recover the spinnaker respectively.
A spinnaker may be symmetric or asymmetric.
Symmetric spinnakers are substantially large triangular sails where the angle of the top is unequal to the angles of the two lower corners of the sail, which are identical. A symmetric spinnaker is mounted symmetrically on the boat, i.e., the lines carrying load while sailing are connected to the boat in a symmetrical way in relation to the length axis of the boat. The spinnaker is controlled by lines, such as rope or wire, i.e., a guy and a sheet running from the lower two corners of the sail to the two aft corners of the boat. The windward line is named the guy. It is attached to the windward or tack corner of the spinnaker and is stabilized by a spinnaker pole. The leeward line is called the sheet. It is attached to the leeward or clew corner of the spinnaker. The guy as well as the sheet and the lowering or the raising of the spinnaker pole is used to control the optimal position of the spinnaker relative to the sailboat, and the wind. Further they are used to trim the shape of the sail. During gybing, the spinnaker pole must be moved from the “old windward” to the “new windward” side of the sailboat. During the gybe the sail(s) (main sail and possibly also the jib) are also moved from one side of the boat to the other, as the tack of the sailing boat is changed downwind from starboard to port or vice versa. This procedure is quite difficult and requires a skilled crew.
Asymmetric spinnakers are large substantially triangular sails where the angle of the top is unequal to the angles of the two lower corners of the sail, which are also not identical. An asymmetric spinnaker is set asymmetrically on the boat, i.e., the lines carrying load while sailing are connected to the boat in an asymmetrical way in relation to the length axis of the boat (see FIG. 7). The spinnaker is controlled by lines, such as rope or wire, i.e., a tack line, attaching the tack corner of the sail to the bow of the sailboat in front or behind the forestay or to a (retractable) bowsprit, and an active sheet and a lazy sheet, attaching the clew corner of the sail to the two aft corners of the boat. An asymmetric spinnaker is less difficult to use since it does not require a spinnaker pole. Instead its tack corner is attached to the bow of the hull or to a (retractable) bowsprit by a tack line or a guy. The asymmetric spinnaker is very easy to gybe.
It only requires releasing the active sheet (the leeward sheet) and pulling in the lazy sheet one, as the tack of the sailing boat is changed downwind from starboard to port or vice versa.
There have been several attempts to provide a spinnaker launching and/or recovering system which make it safe and easy to launch and recover spinnakers on sailboats.
One system for launching and/or recovering the spinnaker has for long been used in small sailboats, also called dinghies.
A retrieval line is attached to the center of the spinnaker and the line runs into a ring to which a sleeve is attached. The sleeve and the ring are either releasably attached to the deck of the dinghy, so that the spinnaker in the sleeve can be removed from the dinghy and stored, when not in use, or they are integrated parts of the hull of the dinghy. Sailing, the spinnaker is easily recovered and folded into the sleeve by this system, simply by slacking the halyard and the sheets and by pulling the retrieval line and vice versa when launching the spinnaker. The fact that the system folds the spinnaker as it is recovered is essential. In this way the length of the sleeve needs only be half of the spinnakers length from the head to the tack corner. Folding the spinnaker is important since the spinnakers length from the head to the tack corner normally by far exceeds the full length of the dinghy or sailboat or yacht.
The system works very well on dinghies, but is not suitable for use on larger sailboats e.g., sailboats with keels and/or yachts. The size of the spinnaker in relation to the width of the hull of sailboats or yachts simply renders it impossible to recover the spinnaker by pulling it down in a retrieval line or recovery line attached to the center of the spinnaker without the lower half of the spinnaker including the clew- and tack corner and the sheet lands on the water to the lee and in front of the bow, where it is inevitably sailed over by the boat with a substantial risk of tearing the spinnaker.
Two systems are designed for sailboats or yachts.
The systems share the disadvantage that at sea, crew members have to bring the spinnaker forward to the front deck, where it has to be mounted in the bow, and to be hoisted prior to launching it. Recovering the sail, once again crew members have to enter the front deck, grasping the sail as it is lowered, dismounting it at the bow, and recovering it from the front deck.
In one system, a winding gear or a capstan at the deck near the bow is used to twist or wind the spinnaker around itself between the winding gear on the deck and the halyard at the top end of the mast. The spinnaker is stored wound up, and prior to launching it, crew members have to bring it forward to the front deck of the sail boat, where it is mounted to the winding gear or a capstan at the deck near the bow, and to the halyard. Then the wound up sail is hoisted and may now be launched by unwinding it. To recover the spinnaker it is wound up again, the halyard is lowered, the wound up sail is grasped and secured by crew members on the front deck, dismounted at the bow, and recovered from the front deck.
In theory the wound up spinnaker can be hoisted in the safety of harbor, remain hoisted and wound up sailing upwind, and be launched going down wind or reaching as required, until the sailboat again reaches harbor, where the wound up spinnaker can be lowered in the safety of harbor, dismounted at the bow and recovered from the front deck.
In this way, the spinnaker can repeatedly be launched and recovered without crew members have to leave the safety of the cockpit at sea.
However, this is not common practice due to the obvious risk of strong winds partly unwinding the hoisted wound up spinnaker, tearing it, especially while going up wind.
Even in light winds, going upwind with the large body of the wound up spinnaker hoisted in the mast is an unpractical and clumsy approach, which will slow down the sailboat a lot, and is therefore not undertaken.
A second system uses a “sleeve” which is drawn onto the spinnaker before bringing it to the sailboat. The sleeve is a separate device that is attached between the spinnaker halyard and the spinnaker. The halyard is attached to the top of the sleeve and the head of the spinnaker is attached to the inside of the sleeve, e.g., with a swivel snap shackle. To help guide the spinnaker into the sleeve there is a large circular or oval fiberglass- or plastic ring at the lower end opening of the sleeve. In order to fit over the entire spinnaker, the sleeve needs to be relatively large for the spinnaker size. In use, the fiberglass ring followed by the sleeve is pulled downwards over the spinnaker to “snuff” the air out of it before bringing it to the sailboat.
The spinnaker is stored “snuffed” in the sleeve and prior to launching it, crew members have to bring it forward to the front deck of the sail boat, where it is mounted to the deck near the bow, and to the halyard. Then the “snuffed” spinnaker is hoisted and may now be launched by hoisting the sleeve itself to the top of the mast. To retract the spinnaker, it is “snuffed” again by lowering the sleeve from the top of the mast, the halyard is lowered and the “snuffed” spinnaker is grasped and secured by crew members on the front deck, dismounted at the bow, and recovered from the front deck.
In theory the “snuffed” spinnaker can be hoisted in the safety of harbor, remain hoisted and “snuffed” sailing upwind, and be launched going down wind or reaching as required, until the sailboat again reaches harbor, where the “snuffed” spinnaker can be lowered in the safety of harbor, dismounted at the bow and recovered from the front deck.
In this way, the spinnaker can repeatedly be launched and recovered without crew members have to leave the safety of the cockpit at sea.
However, this is not common practice due to the obvious risk of strong winds tearing the hoisted “snuffed” spinnaker, especially while going upwind.
Even in light winds, going upwind with the large body of the snuffed spinnaker hoisted in the mast is an unpractical and clumsy approach, which will slow down the sailboat a lot, and is therefore not undertaken.